New Project Announcement: The Second Oxford Sanskrit Play: How Urvashi Was Won

TORCH are delighted to announce a new project award as part of the Humanities Cultural Programme.

The project, A Sanskrit Play in Sanskrit: The Vikramorvaśīyam, (translation: How Urvashi Was Won) is the second Oxford Sanskrit play, led again by Liu Yizhou (Harris Manchester College, Oxford) and will be performed on 7th March at The Queens College, Oxford. It follows the first successful Oxford Sanskrit play The Middle One performed in 2020, also supported by the Humanities Cultural Programme, and the one hour play will once again be performed in Sanskrit, with subtitles. A short talk on the linguistic and literary context of the play will take place just beforehand.

How Urvashi Was Won relates the story of King Pururavas and his love for an immortal, the dancer Urvashi, who normally lives in the heaven of the gods but who has come down to earth in order to realize her passion for the all-too-mortal king. The tragic love of this asymmetrical couple was described already in the ancient 'Rig Veda' and later often expanded. The fifth-century Kalidasa, universally acknowledged as the supreme poet, has reworked the narrative and turned the well-known story into a masterpiece of lyricism, subtle characterization, and the working through of a bold theme.

For more information on the project, and to book tickets for the performance on 7th March, please visit the TORCH website.

Click this link to view the promotional poster.

If you attended this performance and talk, please do take a few moments to share your feedback via the following link: https://forms.gle/Biwxvg7WTMLKqjjV7

This project is also a collaboration with The Queen's College and the Faculty of Oriental Studies.

Part of the Humanities Cultural Programme, one of the founding stones for the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities.